One of the most misguided food myths getting perpetuated nowadays, sadly even by some alternative practitioners, is that dairy is unhealthy to consume.
One reason for the popularity of this modern notion is the skyrocketing incidence of dairy allergies. However, in most cases, these problems are due to the processing (pasteurization/homogenization) of the dairy and/or the unnatural GMO feed given to the cows, not to the dairy itself. When people consume unprocessed dairy from healthy cows grazing on green grass, suddenly the “allergies” disappear. For example, 85% of those who are “lactose intolerant” have absolutely no problem with raw dairy!
Could “lactose intolerance” more aptly be described then as “pasteurization intolerance”? I, for one, definitely think so!
Study of history supports the notion that milk matters and the inclusion of dairy in a healthy, well-rounded diet. The fact is that humans have consumed dairy for thousands of years, even before the advent of agriculture.
Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol, lead author of a groundbreaking archaeological study published in Nature, has found the first direct evidence that prehistoric people of the African Sahara used cattle for their milk many thousands of years ago long before the cultivation of plants in this region.
The initial evidence was found in rock art images illustrating domesticated cattle from the Wadi Imha, in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains, Libyan Sahara. Scientists have dated these images at between 5,000 and 8,000 years old. Ms. Dunne had this to say about the discovery:
Milk is one the very few foods that give us carbohydrates, fats and proteins in one go. So being able to use milk like these people did would have made an enormous difference to their health. It would have provided food for life.
Study of traditional cultures around the world shows the same. Milk not just from cows but from many other mammals such as goat, sheep, camel, reindeer, yak, horses, and even water buffalo have proved an important part of the human diet for far longer than almost any other food.
If the history of milk fascinates you as it does me, you will no doubt enjoy this infographic below sent to me from John Kelle from Online Masters of Public Health. There are numerous factoids about the history of milk to skim through. In addition, 10 good reasons for switching to raw milk from store milk are included for those of you just learning about the benefits of unprocessed, full-fat dairy fresh from the farm.
If you’ve been told that milk is not a healthy food for you and your family to consume, know that history stands firm as a strong and convincing counterpoint to this false, modern notion!
Why Milk Matters
An infographic by the team at Online Masters In Public Health
More Information
A1 and A2 Milk: Do Cow Genetics Even Matter?
The A1 and A2 Factor in Raw Milk
I invite anyone who tells me that milk is just for babies to come watch my (full-grown) yearling goat try to sneak drinks from her momma and all my other does in milk. 🙂
I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and raw goat’s milk is my dairy beverage of choice.
Thank you for this! Approximately 3 years ago I became a raw milk believer. I gave some to my mom and here’s what she said “this is what milk tasted like when I was a little girl”. Drinking raw milk has took my body to a whole different level of health. I have had two incidents happen to me where I should of had broken bones. Thanks again!!!!
I live in Texas, so I have access to raw milk, but we don’t have grass this time of year. Whole Foods sells Organic Valley Grass-Fed milk, so I’m wondering which is better: …whole, non-homogenized, low pasteurized grass-fed milk, or raw milk from cows fed alfalfa and hay?
I always choose the raw … even low temp pasteurized denatures the milk proteins terribly and destroys the enzymes (contrary to rumors going around that low temp pasteurization isn’t damaging). Folks I know with milk issues have trouble with low temp milk but not raw from hay eating cows.
Sue, cows eating alfalfa and hay in the winter time when there is no fresh grass is perfectly okay for raw milk consumption. (provided that the hay was grown in an organic manner) Think of it like herbs in cooking. Do you use fresh rosemary and thyme year round or do you use the dried version more during the winter when there is less access to fresh herbs? Similarly, alfalfa and other hays are the dried grasses of summertime growth – preserved for winter use.
In studying the health benefits of raw milk there are a few pieces of the puzzle missing. The type of cow (A1 or A2) is just as important as getting the milk raw. The problem lies with the protein BCM7, which is found in A1 cows. It is this protein BCM7 that has been shown to possibly cause neurological and medical issues in people exposed to it as well as interfering with your immune response. Most or our milk comes from holstein cows (A1 cows) which have a mutation in the beta casein amino acid proline 67 which converts it to histidine. The mutated protein histidine cannot hold onto the BCM7 protein and gets into the GI tract of anyone drinking A1 cow milk. The proline amino acid in A2 cows (the older breeds of cows such as Jerseys, Asian and African cows) have a strong bond to the protein BCM7, and it is this bond that helps keep BCM7 from getting into the milk. For further information you can read the book “The Devil in the Milk”, written by Dr. Keith Woodford, or read the article
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/09/The-Devil-in-the-Milk.aspx
I’ve written on this blog about A1/A2 before. Actually, more recent evidence than covered in “The Devil in the Milk” book indicates that it isn’t a genetic thing but what the cows are eating. This from Mark McAfee, Owner of Organic Pastures Dairy in CA on the A1/A2 issue:
Quote from Mark:
“I agree with much of what you have shared….but let me help out by filling in the blanks alittle. I am very close to this A-2 subject matter and can help clear the air.
Dr. Cowan has privately apologized to me for writing the forward to The Devil in the Milk. He said that if he knew then what he knows now he would not have said what he wrote.
Please see this statement for some very helpful information. The A-2 story is far from conclusive. Instead of “The Devil in the Milk”….the better statement is.. “The Real Devil is in the CAFO Grain Feeding of the Cows and Processing of the Milk”.
Mark seems like such a cool guy and is not only intelligent and knowledgeable but witty beyond belief in his writings. It would be really awesome if you could get him to do a speaking engagement (in Tampa of course:). People would pay and the money could be used for some good cause or a benefit of sorts. Just an idea. . .
Sarah, can you please tell me where I can find “proof” for the statement that “85% of those with lactose intolerance can consume raw milk”?
Thank you!
I have read this in a number of places … I was using the factoid from the infographic in this post (see infographic sources at the bottom). This number is actually conservative. I believe it was the Untold Story of Milk (by Dr. Ron Schmid) that I first came across this figure. I’ve actually seen higher also .. up to 90% who can’t tolerate processed milk are ok with raw, grassfed milk.
I have served raw milk to 4 or 5 lactose intolerant friends of mine and so far each of them has been fine without any reaction. Not that it’s a statistically significant sample, it’s far from it! But I just wanted to add that I have read this statistic many times too and also have observed it in my own “experiments.”
And thank you Nevra@ChurnYourOwn! I have a friend who has a daughter who is lactose intolerant and has issues with chronic pain (she’s only 18 years old) and I told them that they should give raw milk a try and she just looked at me as if to say, “I just told you that my daughter is lactose intolerant! What are you suggesting cow’s milk for?!?!?” Now I have some solid info I can pass along to them to show them that I’m not just talking out my @$$. 🙂
Thank you, Sarah! I’ll look into the Untold Story of Milk right away! 🙂
A very positive article & info graphic on a superfood
As pointed out it is not fashionable to like milk
Why? yes the allergies (processed product)? but as much because it is traditional
What our grandparents had every day we now call organic and special
Milk is in that range
There is a war against the use of raw milk
In most states your pets can drink it but not you!
Farmers jailed for supplying raw milk grass fed beef etc
Corporations and paid for politicians are behind that
The tide is turning though and this site is part of that movement
Thanks
Loved this post. I’m a recent convert to raw milk. I had dairy allergies my whole life and have been living on milk substitutes for the past ten years. I’m 9 months pregnant now, and about halfway through I started getting bad calf cramps in my sleep. I read your post about raw milk and childbirth, did some research, and decided to give raw milk a try. The calf cramps stopped within the first week of drinking raw milk with utter abandon. My body was DYING for it! Now I have raw milk, kefir, butter, and yogurt in my fridge and I have you to thank. I have absolutely no mucus in my body. I decided to give pasteurized milk a try, just to see if maybe I had “grown out” of my allergy. Nope. Same effects. There’s definitely a difference. Thank you so much for being such a loud voice!
Interesting! Especially the part about allergies/intolerance being related to the processing. I wonder if this is also the situation with eating too many PROCESSED carbs making people fat.
Hello Sarah,
Let me say from the getgo, I am a raw milk lover, so my question is one of seeking information and not a negative reaction. I have read in a recent popular book that we should not be drinking even raw milk as it contains natural hormones to promote the growth of calves and that these hormones are not good for us. Could you, or anyone, please comment on this premise. I don’t want to ever give up my delicious, fabulous raw milk!
By the way, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance and become very ill if I consume pasteurized milk from the grocery store. Not so with raw milk.
I would point to healthy traditional cultures such as the Swiss described by Dr. Price in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. This healthy traditional culture with little to no degenerative disease with young men so healthy and strong that they were consistently chosen to serve as the Papal Guard ate a large amount of dairy from cows grazing on green grass.
When an idea such as drinking raw milk is full of hormones and not healthy for humans is put forth by a modern, politically correct type of book, just look to history to make the call. Raw milk from cows eating green grass has been safely and healthily consumed for thousands of years. Dead people don’t lie nor are they trying to make money off of manipulating consumer buying habits (or selling books, supplements, or diet plans).
I don’t want to give up milk either, but I did some reading and some thinking about the hormone issue too. My concern is that in order to be profitable, dairy farms must keep their cows constantly pregnant in order to keep producing as much as possible, so all milk would consistently have higher levels of hormones than it perhaps did in the past. I don’t know of any studies looking at this but it’s something I’d like to know more about too.
I think that’s where we have to learn to be picky if possible. There is a HUGE difference between different farmer’s and how they treat their animals and their health. You can usually see a difference in milk quality too.
If possible, pick a local farmer that sells raw milk. Go visit the farm, see how the animals are treated. Our favorite milk lady treats her cows like pets. The cows are always happy and running around, they all have names, and they naturally become pregnant when they are ready. It was a draw back sometimes because she would have to ration out milk to her usual customers, so our usual pick up from 2 gallons might only be 1.5 gallons for a couple months because she was short on milk. But after a couple months, she would either add another cow to her family or eventually one of them would have a baby.
Very interesting! We have raw milk here, but I haven’t drank any due to my 5 month old’s milk intolerance. She breaks out in a rash and gets diarrhea. I have never thought to TRY the raw stuff though since we switched a few months ago. We have raw milk, yogurt and cheese. I switched because I think the pasteurized and homogenized stuff is horrible for you. I love reading the benefits. Hmm, I should see if my little one can tolerate the REAL milk?
Time to experiment. 🙂
That is so interesting! Thank you so much for letting me know. I feel a bit more confident trying now. 😀